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Published: March 16th 2017
David here...
The flight was about an hour, with ample leg room in the emergency aisle seat, more than making up for the last flight. Despite Avianca being a budget airline you still get snacks and a drink and they will try and sit you together unlike another airline we've recently flown with (*cough* Viva *cough* Colombia). We landed at Cusco airport, disembarked and picked up our backpacks in around 30 minutes and were soon leaving the airport to face the taxi scrum. We'd read online a couple of tricks, like avoiding the baggage area 'official' taxi that will charge you 50 soles (£12.50) for the quick journey into town and walking past the next row of taxis at arrivals as while cheaper, will still charge you between 25 and 35 soles depending on what they think they can get away with. We walked down to departures and luckily for us a taxi was just about to pull away after dropping someone off. The driver spotted us and asked if we needed a taxi. I asked in reasonable Spanish how much it would be to the Centro Historico area ("Centro Historico, cuanto es?") and he replied "Diez"! I did a
double take, which he took to mean I didn't understand so he held up his fingers and said "Ten".
We jumped in and within 15 minutes we were in Cuscos historic centre right outside our hostel, the Casa Imperial. We thanked the driver profusely and tipped more than necessary, but he was friendly along the way, pointing out sights and the main square. He seemed delighted (tipping taxi drivers is not the done thing in Peru apparantly, but tipping for good service is, and we'd felt like we'd got a good service) and shook my hand before driving away.
The hostel was quaint, friendly but very, very run down. The bathroom in particular needed demolishing and redoing as it was severely in need of a make-over. The tiles were barely staying on the wall. However we'd wanted cheap, and the room was only for one night. It cost £15 in total. While in the room I took a look at Google maps at our route over the next few days to get our bearings when I spotted that I could not see a road to Aguas Calientes, the town next to Machu Picchu where we were booked to
be staying in a few days time. Some quick research showed that there were a few buses that went there but they were dangerous and uncomfortable. We'd originally planned to get the train, but had done nothing about it. So we anxiously checked the Perurail site in the hope of booking train tickets from our next stop, Ollantaytambo. As it is low season currently we managed to book return tickets easily which we were very pleased about.
Forgoing showers we wandered down to Plaza de Armas to soak up the atmosphere. We liked Cusco as we drove through in the taxi and it was even better wandering round at night. It is full of the typical traveller types, who probably keep the town's economy booming in sales of ponchos, stupid hats and pisco sours, but the town felt alive, real and local. There were some sellers on the streets trying to get you to go on tours or have massages but in the main square they are kept at bay by a security force armed with deadly whistles. We bought some soft drinks and relaxed on the square before getting some food.
As we'd had a big pizza
for lunch (probably the best Pappa Johns pizza I've ever had) we opted for something a little lighter and healthier and went to Mr Soup. There are many soups to choose from; international, local and creamy ones. We both opted for local ones and they were delicious. Suzanne had a chicken soup and I had a creamy soup with beef, garlic, oregano and milk in it. Both also had pasta in and came with some lovely bread. Big bowls as well and it was cheap. We loved it and vowed to return when we come back to Cusco in a weeks time.
The night ended with us buying some water and heading back to our room. We had breakfast at the hostel to look forward to but check-out was at 10:00. This seemed stupidly early but is the norm in a lot of places in Peru. Anyway, we relaxed, got ready for bed and slipped under the sheets to discover the bed had about 5 blankets on it between the sheets. Not just any blankets but heavy, lead lined (we think) blankets. It felt like you were trapped. And they were itchy. After about 30 minutes we both felt
like we would never get to sleep, yet miracles do happen as the next thing, it was morning.
Breakfast consisted of bread and jam with coffee and it was away we went, first to pick up our train tickets from the Perurail office on the Plaza de Armas and then to buy our Machu Pichu tickets from the Museo nearby. Both of these tasks were done quickly and easy and we were soon on our way to the RealInka collectivo depot on the corner of 3S and Calle Pavitos to try and get transport to Ollantaytambo. As we got nearby someone approached us, asked "Ollantaytambo?", to which I replied "Si!" (Almost a native me) and the next thing we know we're on a minibus with our luggage at the front on our way. Suzanne said to me "How do you know this is the right bus?" as she had not heard anything of the conversation as we approached, and I'm not sure she believed me until we were nearly at our destination.
Needless to say the journey was spectacular and was over in 2 hours when we pulled into the main square. It cost us 10 soles each
(£2.50) which is a bargain, it has to be said. The town is surrounded by mountains, some of which have ruins on them, right next to town. It is invariably touristy, it is one of the most visited areas in the world, but it has retained the Peruvian feel that makes it a normal village. We compared it to Villa de Leyva in Colombia, a place we loved so hopes were high for Ollantaytambo.
Our hotel was the Villa San Roman, which was a short walk from the main square and had a wonderful view of the mountains. The room felt clean and the bathroom didn't look like a building site. We relaxed for a bit before heading out and wandering the town. It didn't take long to be fair as it is a small place and we were saving the ruins for the next day. We slowly walked the whole place before having a coffee and slice of carrot cake each from a little cafe just off of the square. We then headed back to the room to relax, finally shower and think about food for the evening. While in the room, the heavens opened for about an
hour before clearing up again. Early to the ruins the next day we thought.
The evening meal was at Inka's Tower, a little restaurant up 2 flights of precarious stairs to the seated area. Suzanne had Lomo Saltado and I had Alpaca Saltado. Both dishes were nice, but nothing special. The restaurant itself felt local, had a good atmosphere and we enjoyed it very much. Then it was back to the room for an earlier night ready to tackle the ruins the next day.
The next day we woke up to find a massive group of porters unfurling tents and mats in the field opposite our room. We feared the worst; a massive group of travellers arriving, taking over the town and playing bongos all night. Fortunately after a couple of hours they began to take it all down again. Very confusing.
Breakfast consisted of bread, jam, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee and then we were ready to hit the ruins. We paid the £32 each for a 10 location ticket that lasted 10 days which we could use when back in Cusco. The ruins at 10:00 in the morning were pretty quiet as the tour groups
were yet to decend, but there was more than enough brash, rude and ignorant Americans to go round. I really am trying not to moan about other people but it is very difficult.
We'd not felt the effects of the high altitude as we'd come pretty much straight from Bogota and have been taking the medicine that is supposed to help, however walking up the steep steps among the ruins was tough going and we had frequent stops to catch our breath. It helped that the scenery is absolutely stunning and we found ourselves stopping for many minutes at a time to take pictures or just to admire the view. In all, we spent a good 3 hours at the site before leaving. It is highly recommended with a good route marked out and enough space so you can find some quiet areas, though it was getting busier as we left. They even have a family of Alpacas roaming around.
As it was still fairly early we decided to walk to the station to see how far it was in readiness for the next day when we were moving on, closer to 'the big tamale'. What we couldn't
figure out though was why all the taxi drivers wanted to take us back to Cusco. Every one we passed shouted Cusco at us. Anyway, after walking to and from the station we stopped at Heart's Cafe for coffee, and a piece of banoffee pie for me. In the nick of time as it started raining heavily as we walked in. It was still raining when we finished so had another coffee while we waited for the rain to slow. Heart's was a lovely little place with a great atmosphere, recommended.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon looking into places to go in Bolivia as we want to do an Amazon tour there and wanted to get some provisional date booked in so we can start emailing companies to check availability. Once completed it was time to freshen up and head to Urcucuta restaurant where we had booked a table earlier in the day, hopefully, as when Suzanne asked the woman was looking very stressed. Anyway, we arrived and got shown to a table with 'reserved' on it. We'd tried to get in the night before however they only had a massive table that could seat about 12
people which we didn't want to take, hence the booking.
The restaurant was busy again and soon all the tables were full, except for the big massive one. Suzanne had lamb tenderloin with blue cheese sauce and green mashed potato and I had Peruvian kebabs (which included Alpaca) with potatoes and vegetables. The meal was pretty good, if slightly more expensive than some other places and we had an enjoyable evening there. Then it was back to our room to relax, read and get an earlier night.
The next morning once again a huge group of porters were unfurling camping stuff in the field oposite us, but again packed it up. All we could think is that they were cleaning and drying it all. No idea why they would do it here in town though. Where had the Inca trail groups camped overnight? It was all a mystery, one we contemplated over breakfast.
We checked out at 10:00, waving goodbye to our very comfortable room and kind host. We sat in the main square for 30 minutes or so. We had a couple of hours until our train was due so we watched the world go by
before grabbing a coffee (and slice of cake for me, the NHS recommends a high calorie diet at altitude, alright?). We slowly walked down to the station and had a bit of time to wait until our train was due to leave.
Ollantaytambo has been a lovely stop. We get the impression that people arrive, go to Machu Picchu and then leave straight away. Our hostess at the hotel struggled with our itinerary as it seemed very different. Admittedly there is not much to do in the town but we've enjoyed the leisurely pace, the stopping and looking around and just taking it easy for a bit. This part of the world is an area we really wanted to see so staying here for 8 nights feels right to us. We did feel like real tourists flying into Cusco instead of braving the overnight bus but feel better now that we know that most people do not stay here that long.
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Connie McClellan
non-member comment
Ollantaytambo Looks Nice!
I'm always grateful for blog posts like this that help me plan my travel! This blog got a hit while I was searching realinka bus while planning a trip similar to yours, only during high season. It takes time to write these posts, so thanks!